Device for pulling automobiles from mud-holes.



L. H. ADAMSON.

DEVICE FOR PULLING AUTOMOBILES FROM MUD HOLES.-

Witnesses Attorneys LEE H. ADAMSON, or ROGERS, ARKANSAS.

I DEVICE FOR PULLING AUTOMOBILES FROM MUD-I-IOLES.

To all whom it may concern) Be it known that 1, LEE H. ADAMSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rogers, in the county of Benton and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and useful Device for Pulling Automobiles from Mud- Holes, of which the following is a specification. o

The present invention is a device adapted to be used for'pulling an automobile from a mud hole or rut, and is an improvement over the device for the Same purpose disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 7 3,403.

It is the object of the invention to provide a novel and improved yet simple and efli cacious device-attachable to one of the rear wheels of an automobile, to enable the machine to extract itself from a mud hole or rut, the device including novel means for anchoring'it t0 the road or ground in advance of the rear wheel.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scopeof' what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view-of the device.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the means for attachment to the automobile wheel. 1

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the anchor stake or pin.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail taken line H of Fig. 3. 1 .1

. Fig. 5 is a plan view showing a modified form used with an ordinary anti-skid chain, portions of which 'are broken away.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of. the anchoring means of the modified form.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of a modified form of anchoring stake as driven into the ground.

Fig. 8 is a fragmental elevation of another modified form of anchoring stake.

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8.,

Fig. 10 is a fragmental elevation showing another variation of anchoring stake.

on the Specification of Letters Patent. I

Application filed May 4, 1916. Serial No. 95,419.-

In carrying out the invention, reference being had to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4., there is provided a ladder member or chain consisting of the parallel longitudinal chains or flexible elements 1 connected at suitable intervals by short cross chains or elements 2. The flexible ladder member is adapted to be wound upon the rear wheel of an automobile, and to accomplish this, one end of said member is-attached to the tire and felly of the Wheel, through the medium of an attaching chain 3 connected to one end of one of the chains 1,

and provided at its free end with a doubled member 4 terminating in hooks 5 which are engageable with a link 6 attached to the respective end of the other chain 1, whereby the chain 4: and respective end chain 2 can surround the tire and felly of the Wheel. The chain 3 extends around the felly, and in'order to prevent said chain from scratching or marring the felly, spokes, and other parts, a tubular covering 7 of rubber or other suitable material. is slipped upon the chain 3, and is held in place by rivets or other retaining elements 8 engaged through the covering 7 adjacent its ends and extending through certain of the links of the chain 3.

Attached to the other ends of the chains 1 is a yoke 9 Which has attached thereto a chain or flexible element 9, and said chain 9 isconnected to an anchor stake or pin 10.

The anchor stake 10 is of special construction to enhance the efficiency thereof. Thus, the stake 10 embodies the fiat relatively wide body or shank 11 which has-one end pointed, as at 12, and said end portion of the body 11 is curved. to one Side from the plane of the body. The shank 11 is provided at its other end with a driving head 13, and the body 11 has a longitudinal stiffening rib or flange 14: midway between its edges and extending from the point 12 to the head 13.

In order to connect the chain 9 with the stake 10, a clip 15 rests against that side of the body or shank 11 of the stake opposite the rib 14:, and is provided with refieXed or bent back tongues or ears 16 overlapping the other side of the shank 11, to slidably oonnect the clip 15 with the stake for longitudinal adjustment thereof. The clip 15 is provided with'a down-turned lobe or tongue 17 provided with an aperture 18 receiving the endlink of the chain 9.

The device can be readily carried within the tool kit or other compartment of the automobile, and should the machine become stuck in a mud hole or' rut, the device can readily be applied to one of the rear wheels in order to enable the machine to extract itself from the rut, and if desired, one of the devices can be used for each of the rear wheels. To apply the device, the rear end of the flexible ladder member is first attached to the rear wheel of the automobile in front of the rutin whichthe rear wheel is lodged, and the. ladder member is then laid upon the road in front of the rear wheel, and the chain 9 is extended forwardly and drawn comparatively taut. The stake 10 is then I driven into the ground with the clip 15 resting upon the surface of the ground. Then, when the machine is started to rotate ther'ear wheels, the rear wheel to which the ladder member is connected, will tend to wind said member thereon, thereby causing the Wheel to move forwardly upon the ladder member as the ladder member is wound up,-

which will serve to pull the machine out of the rut. The chains 1 can contact with the sides of the pneumatic tire, while the short chains 2 extend across the tread of said tire, to hold the ladder member in place or while it isbeing wound up. After the machine is extracted from the rut, the device can be ofthe stake, will swingthe lower pointed end thereof toward the right, thus pulling the stake 10 toward the line of pull along the chain- 9,- but due to the fact that the curved pointed end of the stake enters the ground at one side of the longitudinal axis of the stake,this will assist the friction of the soil against the stake in. resisting the tendency for the stake 10 to be withdrawn.

by the pull applied to the chain 9. It is'not only necessary for the pull to overcome the friction of the soil against the stake 10, but it is also necessary for the pull to withdraw the soil above the lower curved or spoonshaped end ofzthe stake; This, ordinarily, will prevent the stake from being Withdrawn during the time that the automobile is being pulled from the rut. The clip 15 in resting upon the ground,- applies the strain to the stake adjacent the surface of the ground, whereby there is a minimum tend-' ency for the stake being bent, and this also mobile wheel by means of: an attaching chain: 3 having terminal hooks 5 engageable with the terminal links of the chains 1*,--

said chain 8 being adapted to pass around the telly andhaving a tubular covering: 7 of rubber or other material heldin place'by. meansof rivets or other retaining elements 8 engaged through the covering 7 and certain links of the chain'S; A-pai-r of stakes 10 are used, onefor each chain I and each stake comprises the, shank 11 having the pointed end 1-2 curved to one sid'e,:head 13-; and stiffening: rib i l? the same as thestake- 1-0' above described. The shank 11 has an eye or staple 18 adjacent the head 13", with which a short chain. section 9 is engaged,

said chain section 9" having a hook 9 to engage the end of one" chain 1;, there being two of said chain sections 9, oneflforl each stake 10. Those ends of the: chains 1' re mote from the chain 3 can thus be anchored to' theground by' means of the stakes 10. The chain sections '9 are. preferably con nected by a' curvedyoke 19 having termi nalseyes 2O engaging certain links of the chain sections 9 when the whe'elp'asse's over the yoke ,19, it can be depressed to accommodate the wheel when it passes between the stakes 10.

Fig. 7 shows a modified form of anchor stake 10 which can be used in placeof either of the stakes 10 or 10, and which can also be used for the attachment of a guy rope or wire. This stake 10 has the shank 11*,

pointed'el'i-d 12, head 13 and rib 14 practically the same asthe stake 10. A hook 17 integral with the head 13 is located at that side of the shank 11 opposite the rib'l l and is adapted for the engagement of a chain, rope, wire, or equivalent-device, and the pull be transmitted either longitudinally of the stake in anincline'd direction, or horizontally along the surface of the soil away from thatg side of the stake toward which the pointed end thereof is curved.- In order to pull the stake 10?. from the ground, it is necessary to displace and lift with the lower pointer-l end of the stake, the soil lying between the stake and the line 21 parallel therewith and extending from the point of the stake:v This stake, as well as the others'above described, is especially usefu l insoft ground, wherein a straight strike or pin would readily become loosened and withdrawn.

The stake 10 shown in Figs. 8 and 9 has the shank 11 and head 13 and rib 14 and is provided with a web l7 between the head 13 and shank 11 opposite the rib 14 said web 17 being provided with an aperture 18 for the engagement ofa chain, rope, wire, or the like. The stake 10 shown in Fig. 10 has the shank 11, head 13, and rib 14;, which rib is provided with the aperture 18 for the engagement of the chain, cable or the like.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

An anchor stake embodying a flat shank having one end pointed and curved toward one side from the plane of said shank, said shank having a head at its other end and a longitudinal stifi'ening rib between its edges and extending from said pointed end of the shank to said head, said'rib being disposed at that side of the shank toward which the pointed end is curved, and a clip having refiexed portions engaging said shank, the clip being disposed at that side of the shank opposite said rib, and having a downturned apertured lobe for the engagement of a flexible element.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afliXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LEE H. ADAMSON. Witnesses:

J. L. HOLYFIELD, B. O. WAKEFIELD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. c." 

